Rochdale have to raise the bar permanently insists John Coleman

Rochdale’s resolution for the new year will be to raise their game for all opposition – not just the sides at the top of the table. Dale followed up a fine win at home to third-placed Cheltenham with an impressive 4-2 victory at sixth-placed Bradford City on Saturday.

FIND THE GAP Ashley Grimes fires the ball wide of former Dale skipper Gary Jones to net the third goal in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Bradford City at Valley Parade.

Rochdale’s resolution for the new year will be to raise their game for all opposition – not just the sides at the top of the table.

Dale followed up a fine win at home to third-placed Cheltenham with an impressive 4-2 victory at sixth-placed Bradford City on Saturday.

Sandwiched between those wins was a disappointing defeat at Burton Albion, and manager John Coleman said his side must improve against teams outside the top seven.

“Bradford are a top, top side and I will be very surprised if they are not in the play-off reckoning at the end of the season, or go up automatically, and I said the same about Cheltenham last week,” said Coleman.

“But we can’t go and let ourselves down against the likes of Burton. They are equally a good side, but we let ourselves down in that game and sometimes you question the mental approach, my own included. I am trying my best to get the players prepared for games, but sometimes we really suffer from a body blow.

“If we concede a goal we tend to take a long time to get over it. Thankfully, at Bradford, we didn’t.”

Skipper Peter Cavanagh said the side had no problems lifting themselves for the occasion before a crowd in excess of 11,000 at Valley Parade.

“I said to the lads in the huddle before the game ‘if you don’t want a piece of this you might as well all go home now’,” he said.

“But I thought they all raised their game and the challenge now is to keep raising our game regardless of the opposition.

“We haven’t struggled to lift ourselves against the teams at the top end of the table, but when it comes to the mid-table and lower half sides I think it’s a criticism that can be levelled against us. It’s certainly not for the want of effort, but it is something we need to address if we are to achieve what we want to achieve this season.”

Skipper Cavanagh was singled out for praise by Coleman having won his personal battle with ex-Dale skipper Gary Jones.

“For me, Peter Cavanagh was immense,” said the Dale boss.

“There will be a lot of comparisons drawn by our fans between him and Gary Jones, who was an inspirational captain for many a year, a player who deserves the plaudits he gets from our fans because he was a magnificent servant and a great footballer.

“He still is a great footballer, so there was a lot of pressure on Peter going into the game.

“It was always going to be a little personal battle for him because of what has gone on in the past, and thankfully he stood up to it.”

It was the manner of the team’s performance as a whole which pleased Coleman most, however, and he said sides at Dale’s level don’t always gets the credit they deserve.

“We are a good team when we pass the ball,” said Coleman, whose team were due to entertain Rotherham at Spotland on New Year’s Day.

“Everybody knows about our defensive frailties, but I certainly think we are one of the best teams in the league going forward and proved that on the day.

“I don’t think people give enough credit for some of the quality football played in League Two, or League One for that matter, when you look at the type of football MK Dons play. If it had been Barcelona playing Bradford everyone would have been purring about that first half performance, saying how good a team they are. Well we can play like that and we aspire to play like that.

“Obviously we are not going to be as good as Barcelona, but you can still have the same philosophies of hard work, retaining possession and trying to be incisive with your passing.”

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